Faucets are ubiquitous plumbing products having the basic purpose of delivering hot, cold or mixed water from a water supply to a user. Important performance factors of faucets include control of temperature and flow rate, longevity, and absence of leaks, but the faucet has also become an aesthetic showpiece in the decor of a living space, and especially so in a lavatory application. Purchase decisions for lavatory faucets are often made purely on aesthetic design, and the choice of lavatory faucet is often the first decision made in the design of a bathroom. Purchase decisions for other fixtures, fittings, furniture, and accessories (e.g., shower and tub fittings, etc.) are often dictated by the choice of faucet. Thus, the capability to economically produce new, attractive, previously infeasible complex geometries offers a significant competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Conventional faucet fabrication techniques are extremely limited in construction possibilities. Geometries must be amenable to casting processes. That is, geometries are limited to those that can be readily molded and de-molded from a mold. Geometries with multiple undercuts, internal openings or spaces, multiple, small diameter channels, or the like are not possible to form via conventional processes.
What is therefore needed in the art are techniques to leverage cutting edge fabrication processes to expand, and preferably greatly expand, the faucet geometries that can be fabricated.
What is further needed in the art is a palette of new faucet and faucet component constructions that include structurally sound geometries with multiple undercuts, internal openings or spaces, multiple, small diameter channels, in various unique combinations.